


Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH): Group Training

by literally_no_idea



Series: Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH) Main Series [35]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Dogs, Don't copy to another site, Gen, SDfSH 'verse, Service Animals, Service Dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 14:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18501328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literally_no_idea/pseuds/literally_no_idea
Summary: Like any other dog, service dogs still need maintenance training sometimes to make sure that they’re doing good on all of their commands, and with so many teams now, it’s easy to set up group training sessions for the dogs. One calm Saturday, everyone gathers in the training room Tony had made for the dogs, and they start training as a group first.





	Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH): Group Training

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to the series, or if you're new here, welcome! This part is about the dogs doing some maintenance training. Enjoy!

Like any other dog, service dogs still need maintenance training sometimes to make sure that they’re doing good on all of their commands, and with so many teams now, it’s easy to set up group training sessions for the dogs. One calm Saturday, everyone gathers in the training room Tony had made for the dogs, and they start training as a group first.

 

One by one, each handler gives their dog commands, making sure that their dog will focus on them and only them. They run through obedience commands; sit, down, stay, come, heel, leave it. Each dog does well, and once each handler has finished all of their commands, they break up to work on commands with their dog individually, using the number of other teams in the room as distractions. Then, they increase the difficulty again.

 

Half of the handlers take off their dog’s gear, releasing their dogs so they’re officially off duty, and they start to play with the dogs while the other half of the dogs continue to work. They switch halfway through, so that the dogs that were still working are now off duty and the other dogs are working again.

 

It’s good practice; Diva almost messes up while tasking when Smash runs up, squeaking a toy in his face and running off again. The dogs do great, and with all of the dogs having worked so hard, they take the dogs to the indoor dog park, giving them some time off to play.

 

They’re fun to watch; dogs literally jumping over one another to catch frisbees, chasing each other in circles, wrestling in large piles of fur and paws, and running across the room, bouncing from one activity to the next.

 

Natasha watches them all, keeping an eye on Lapushka, who’s currently wrestling with Ava. She sees Fubar stop mid jump for a frisbee, dropping back down to the floor and running over to alert Bucky to a seizure. Bucky scratches Fubar behind the ears, following the dog to the corner of the room and laying down, Fubar under Bucky’s head to help prevent him from being hurt during the seizure.

 

Rhodey is sitting on the floor on the other side of the room, Valor laying down across his legs to help with his pain. Wade calls Rhodey’s name, and Rhodey taps Valor’s paw. Valor stands, bracing so Rhodey can put a hand on his shoulders, standing up and walking over to where Wade and Danny are talking. At Rhodey’s cue, Valor runs off to join Quasar in a game of tug-of-war. 

 

Grace jumps over Sparkles, running over to climb into Matt’s lap where he’s curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth slightly with his hand tapping an unsteady rhythm against his thigh. Grace pushes at Matt until he stands up, grabbing her collar with one hand and letting her guide him out of the room so he can take the time to manage his sensory overload.

 

As Natasha looks around, Bucky finally sits up from his seizure, Fubar hopping to his paws and licking Bucky’s face while the man giggles, running his hands through Fubar’s fur. Bucky’s just standing up and Fubar’s running back over to continue his game of competitive frisbee with Aelfhun when Tony walks up to Natasha, pulling her attention away from the rest of the room.

 

“They’re doing great, aren’t they?” Tony says, and Natasha nods.

 

“Yeah, they are. We got lucky, with such good dogs.”

 

Tony shrugs. “I don’t think it was luck, I think they just had a really, really good trainer.” He turns to look at Natasha. “You know how much you’ve helped all of us, right? You do realize how important this was, for all of us?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Natasha says softly, watching as Matt and Grace come walking back into the room. “I do.”

 

“Have you thought about making this a full time thing? Training service dogs? I’m sure there’s other disabled people that could really benefit from service dogs but they just can’t get one or train one themselves.”

 

“I don't know. I’m not sure if that’s a commitment I’m willing to make yet.”

 

Tony nods. “Think about it, maybe. You’re good at this. And I could still make all the gear for the dogs you train.”

 

Tony walks away, and Natasha’s a little glad for the space, because what Tony’s talking about is a lot for her to consider. She’ll probably have to talk to her therapist about this, she’s not sure this is a decision she can make on her own.

**Author's Note:**

> Service dog facts of the day:
> 
> -Yes, service dogs do get distracted! They're living beings, it happens. This is why it's so important that service dogs be left alone while they're working, because yes, they are trained to ignore all kinds of distractions, but that doesn't make it easy!
> 
> -For that reason, I've seen a number of service dog handlers who will give a fake name for their dog when people ask. This is because while a service dog should be able to ignore other people saying their name and talking to them, it's still really hard, and it's not fair to your dog to force them to have to stress about messing up. You're setting them up for failure.
> 
> -This is also why so much time is spent bombproofing service dogs to not react to different stimuli. I've mentioned Murphy's Law before; that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. In disability circles, this also means that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it will all happen at once.
> 
> -For service dog teams, Murphy's Law in action can look a little like this: You enter a restaurant. The restaurant manager tells you that dogs are not allowed in, and is denying you access. While you're trying to explain, a child runs up and starts pulling your dog's tail, and someone else walks up and starts petting your dog and making kissy noises at them. Your dog alerts you to high blood pressure, and you feel like you're going to faint.
> 
> \--However, because you'd felt pretty good when you left the house, you're using your cane, not your wheelchair, and there's no available seats, and you're still trying to talk to the manager. You left your medication in the car, you don't have anyone with you to help defend you (because managers rarely trust disabled people), and your phone is dead, so if something happens, you can't contact anyone.
> 
> Basically, Murphy's Law for disabled people sucks. So we prepare for the absolute worst, and then just hope for the best.
> 
> Bucky's dog Fubar is based on the lovely webcomic [ Bucky and Fubar](https://buckyandfubar.tumblr.com/) by the amazing [ yawpkatsi ](https://yawpkatsi.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!
> 
> Bruce/Hulk's dog being named Smash and the original concept for this series comes from AO3 user [ thingswithwings ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingswithwings/pseuds/thingswithwings) and their story [ "Five Ways to Get In Touch with Your Inner Mild-Mannered Scientist" ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/429749?view_adult=true)
> 
> With that said, if you'd like to see more drabbles or notes related to this series or want to talk to me about this series or anything else, you can find me on tumblr [ here ](https://servicedogsforsuperheroes.tumblr.com/)
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!!


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